Geneva, 26 June: The Second Advisory Board Meeting of the Smart Sustainable Development Model Initiative was held on 26 June at ITU Headquarters to review progress and to discuss ways to leverage the power of ICTs to save lives and promote sustainable development.

"In the wake of the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014 that took place in Dubai earlier this year, the SSDM initiative takes on an importance at a whole new level," said Mr Brahima Sanou. "The ideas in the reports presented today will go a long way in supporting us as we implement the Dubai Action Plan adopted at the Conference."

Mr Sanou praised the collaboration of the members of the Advisory Board and thanked them for their efforts and for dedicating their time to the initiative.

The meeting reviewed and assessed the progress made in the areas of financing, partnerships, business models, infrastructure, new technologies, policy, regulations and advocacy. It also set-up a Task-Force to draft the SSDM Action Plan.

The Advisory Board, which meets twice a year, is chaired by Mr John M. Nasasira, Minister of Information and Communications Technology of Uganda. "I would like to acknowledge the tremendous progress achieved so far by the Working Groups," Nasasira said. "This Initiative must succeed, as people who came here are all volunteers, they are all concerned with disaster management issues, and they are highly experienced and knowledgeable people."

The Smart Sustainable Development Model Initiative (SSDM) is an international, multi-stakeholder platform that seeks to link ICT for development with ICT for disaster management in order to achieve sustainable development. The aim is to optimize the use of resources by utilizing existing infrastructure in order to minimize additional financial investments.